HOUSTON - Seven western lowland gorillas are moving to the Houston Zoo as the facility prepares to open a new gorilla habitat.
The Houston Zoo says the habitat will open Memorial Day weekend.
The zoo's specially designed space will hold two groups of gorillas who will alternate between an outdoor area and a "night house" complete with private bedrooms and a 23-year-foot climbing tree.
Slideshow: 7 gorillas coming to the Houston Zoo
"These magnificent animal ambassadors offer the opportunity to increase awareness and inspire conservation action to protect their wild counterparts. The Houston Zoo's conservation efforts for these species will also be communicated through interpretive messages and interactive experiences that reinforce compelling education programs," the zoo wrote in a press release.
Guests will be able to see the animals through different levels of the new habitat.
The new gorillas are being brought in over the next two months from facilities in South Carolina, Kentucky, and New Orleans.
According to the zoo, the endangered western lowland gorilla faces many threats. Their native habitat in central and west Africa is shrinking largely due to the expansion of mining and agriculture in the area.
